Olympic Expulsions

It is reported that China intends to expel migrant workers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Needless to say, the Chinese authorities have denied this report and have "spun" the denial by saying that Beijing is looking into how to keep the "mentally ill" from "damaging the public interest" during the games.

That's an interesting way of denying the story.

This story comes amidst promises from China that hosting the Olympics will improve respect for human rights.

The Beijing Morning Post raised the expulsion issue earlier this month, by saying that many of the 1 million migrant workers in Beijing from other parts of China would be expelled before the games.

Zhou Jidong, head of Beijing's legal department, denied it and said in relation to the mentally ill issue:

"We are now studying the issue.

The city government plans to ask the municipal (council) to make a law about psychiatric health regulations aimed at providing mental health treatment and preventing mentally ill people from damaging the public interest."

The IOC will of course not intervene in this, as long as they make a good living from the sponsorship deals that the Olympics brings in.